The Nose Knows

Is your nose a snub? Or maybe a turn-up? According to British scientists, the nose could be the newest feature used to verify an individual's identity.

PhotoFace, developed at the University of the West of England Bristol and Imperial College London, uses a series of images, taken from different angles, to build a 3D model of an individual's facial features. The system then analyzes the relationship between three parts of the nose -- the ridge profile, the tip and the space between the eyes -- to determine identity.

But the program isn't exactly ready to catch dangerous criminals. Researchers found recognition rates to be relatively low and recommend that nose scans be used to supplement rather than replace other biometric measures. A University of Bath team is building a larger database of noses for comparison.

If snub and turn-up don't sound like you, fear not. PhotoFace also determined that noses come in Roman, Greek, Nubian and hawk varieties.